


A (bloody) week in a day, to be a detective

by stayatinyzen



Category: GOT7, Stray Kids (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: (blood tests), Blood, Gen, Hospitals, Memory Loss, Needles, Nightmares, Poisoning, Stabbing, death #1, forest?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:14:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28180767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stayatinyzen/pseuds/stayatinyzen
Summary: Waking up in a strangers body?Eh...Waking in different strangers bodies each day, but it's always the same day?Confusing...Waking up in your body over and over til you work out a mystery?Ooh...What about waking up in seven different people's bodies, and you have a mystery to solve, but there's a certain...obstacle...And as you get closer to the end...the more the mystery affects you personally.Oh, and it all takes place in one day.Like the sound of that?Well look no further.---------------------------------------------------------------------------Tags + characters + fandoms will b updated as they appear.This mainly revolves around stray kids and its members but...there is a lot of peopleDisclaimer: this has nothing to do with the real people, it's my story with little idol shaped characters.Characters that portray nothing about the idol themself.(Disclaimer 2.0: I was inspired by both the book 'The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle' and the thriller movie 'Happy Death Day')





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boy jolted into a sitting position, a hand flying to his chest as he panted, feeling a dull ache hamming away inside his lungs.
> 
> This was all so weird, why was this happening? What did he do yesterday to cause such pain?  
> ...What did he do yesterday at all?  
> It's probably bad that he couldn't remember anything at all isn't it...

The boy jolted into a sitting position, a hand flying to his chest as he panted, feeling a dull ache hamming away inside his lungs. He coughed, his other hand moving to cover his mouth.  
He realised, a second too late, that the arm he moved was the same arm that had been holding him up, and without it he fell back into his pillow. He groaned, all the movement along with coughing causing the ache to flare up. He lay, waiting for it to relax, rubbing his chest consistently in hope that it would help ease the pain.  
The second he tried to take a deep breath, the urge to cough returned. This was all so weird, why was this happening? What did he do yesterday to cause such pain?  
...What did he do yesterday at all? Or the day before? Or over the whole week?

  
_Wait, wait, wait, it's not the time to panic right now._

  
Well...there was sense in that. Other than the fact that he literally had no idea who he was, where he was, there was the possibility he was drugged or coshed on the head and kidnapped, but he didn't know why, but there must be something. Ransom? Was he really smart or som-

His internal panic was cut short by a feminine voice's shout.  
He shook his head and sat up again. And yet again he heard it. 

"Jeongin! Jeongin, get out of bed now!"  
Who was...Jeongin?

Before he could contemplate and be lost in a train of thought, there was a knock. It surprised him, understandably, but he didn't yell; only jumped as his eyes shot to the door of the room.  
The knock sounded again, more impatiently. With that he realised he had to respond.  
"Come...in?"  
A kid, he looked around thirteen to fifteen, poked his head in the room.  
"Hyung, mum's calling, hurry up" He stated, popping the 'p'. Upon gaining no response the boy leaned out of the room, and shouted for another hyung.

A boy- or rather man; he looked to be in his early twenties, with a similar woody-brown shade of hair to the younger, and akin, similar coloured eyes, walked in after the boys shout.  
"Jeonginnie, come on, up. I know it's hard on you, but let's go"

After the statement from, who he assumed was the eldest of them three (brothers?), the boy on the bed realised that he was in fact this 'Jeongin' who was called by their...mother...and now his...two...brothers?

Lost in his world of finally a scrap of understanding, Jeongin hadn't noticed the eldest nearing the bed. He was very promptly made aware of his presence as he was lifted by strong, stable arms, with seemingly years of practice.   
Caught over his shoulder, Jeongin panicked. Even if they were 'brothers' or whatever, he didn't know this man, not right now, and definitely didn't trust him enough to be casually picking him up.  
However, both the position and vocalizing at all made the chest pain unbearable. With a little whimper of pain escaping him, he grabbed fistfuls of the man's shirt before he could move.

Stopping, likely both due to to feeling Jeongin's grip and hearing the whimper, the man switched his hold to hold his younger brother securely in his arms in bridal style instead. "Where does it hurt Jeonginnie?"  
Jeongin opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish a few times, before deciding that it'd be more beneficial to tell the other than lie that he was fine. He placed a hand on his chest, accidentally letting out another cough due to suddenly gulping in air.

  
The man quickened his pace, reaching the bathroom and placing Jeongin on the counter to move to rub his back as he caught his breath.  
"Hey, Jeongie, you're ok, it's ok"  
With that, he left the panting boy's side to inform the youngest, telling him to bring a glass of water and explain to their mum why Jeongin hadn't come down.  
As the worried teen left his brothers to complete his tasks, the eldest found himself at Jeongin's side again almost immediately.

“Hey, bud, what happened? Did something happen last night? I mean- other than…y'know…yeah, sorry”  
Jeongin just blinked.  
“Uh...I...I don't kn-know...actually” he whispered the last word, unsure.  
Now it was the elders turn for confusion. “What d'ya mean you don't know?”  
“I...I just...I really just d-don't know...I...I-I don't know...your name, but, from this morning...I think we're…brothers? Are- You're…my hyung?”  
The confusion on the others face only grew, and then his face fell into a frown. Jeongin felt himself start to panic, what did he do wrong this time.  
“Jeongin…I know you're upset about him but stop. Jokes and pranks aren't going to get anyone anywhere, even if you get some amusement out of it.”

Jeongin stared at him in shock. He thought his own brother would lie about something like this? After what seemed like a heartbreaking event as well.  
“Jeongie, yes I want you to be happy, but please, don't joke about that. That's...the idea of that is so scary.”  
Jeongin huffed. 

“Oh really? How d'you think I felt, waking up, not knowing who I am, not a single clue who I was, or where I was or who all the people suddenly in my...this...a room, that I was in, why people suddenly came in. Oh, and decided they could just pick me up like some ragdoll or something. Oh let's add to that, the fact that I. Can't. Breathe. Without having a coughing fit. And now you won't even believe me and I don't know what to do and you're talking about some seemingly super important problem that hurt me, but it didn't because I don't know what this freaking problem even is!” 

After his rant, Jeongin felt like coughing again and tried to even out his breathing. His ‘older brother’ couldn't even try to get a word in edgeways due to how fast he rattled it all off.  
After the supposedly older offered no reply or aid, Jeongin hopped off the counter and turned to look in the mirror. Mildly surprised by how similar he looked to the other two.  
“So now what? Lock me up like some exotic creature you've never seen or help me?”  
“…you're…you're not Jeongin” And with that he forcefully twisted the...not-Jeongin around and held him by the collar. “Where's Jeongin? Who are you and what do you want with him?” His grip grew tighter the more words he hissed out.  
Not-Jeongin sighed. “Like I said. I. Don't. Know. Also, like I said, kinda having trouble breathing…thanks for helping so much”  
“Can you shut up. Jeongin would never talk to me with all that sarcasm.”  
“Well bro, either I am him, grown up and tired of your annoying self, or, like you seem to be certain about, I'm not your brother, and I don't have the foggiest who I am or where he is. I'm sorry”  
The final two words disarmed the other and he dropped the hold on the other. As he formulated a response, the silence was instead broken by a shill ‘Hyuung, I got water’, and the youngest of the trio coming in with a glass of it.  
“Ah...thank you. Go sit with mum, I'll bring Jeongie down in a little ok?” The youngest gave a cute nod, reached up to pat Jeongin (or not?)'s head before running out.

The older sighed, handing the water to the other. “Drink. Then we have to go down. Stop being such a smart ass and no one should realise anything's up”  
After having a few sips of the well needed water he replyed, “But if they know won't it make things easier?”  
“…Yea...but...I don't know”  
“I'm...Jeongin still. But I've just...forgotten everything...and...if I'm still here instead of you're actual Jeongin tomorrow you can kill me?”  
“…don't talk about death either if you want that...stupid plan to work. Maybe we can get you to a hospital to check about your memory thing...and I can be as far away from you as possible. But, if there's _one_ scratch on his body, you will pay”  
Jeongin nodded. “Yeah, sure, ok, uh-huh, thanks”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aight so, Innie's younger bro was said to be 12 as of 2018, 5yrs between them, and my headcannon is:  
> lil bro -5yrs- Jeongin -5yrs- big bro  
> so  
> that should clear that up
> 
> aand yeh. Tell moi if its good/bad/should/shouldn't continue 
> 
> and yea  
> any feedback is welcome


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeongin felt weirdly dizzy. It was fine. They would go to the doctors soon enough, they needed to check his memory stuff anyway.  
> But when he stood again, he felt himself sway. Maybe not so fine...
> 
> "You ok, hyung?"  
> Jeongin looked up and nodded. He was surprised at the hand offered, and more so when he didn't move, the younger pulled one of his arms and placed it over his own shoulders to support Jeongin as he walked. 

Jeongin had eaten breakfast, it had been a dreary affair. It was much harder to converse with all these people around, his tongue feeling heavy as lead, similar to the sombre atmosphere. There were moments he felt a joke on the tip of his tongue at the antics of the youngest, but decided it wasn't acceptable to let them slip out.

After breakfast, he sat with his...younger brother, the idea of siblings still felt so alien, but that kid. And the TV was on. Some children's cartoon, it wasn't all that.   
Instead, he listened to what the adults were talking about. The oldest relaying information about the...'Jeongin-situation' to the parents. He under exaggerated it, simply that Jeongin had forgotten the past couple of months and was a bit lost and confused.

Before he knew what was happening, Jeongin felt a hand carding through his hair. He couldn't lie, it felt nice. Soothing. But again, he didn't know these people. He sat forward, dislodging the hand from his hair. He turned, hearing a sigh.  
The women- his mum, was stood there.  
"How are you feeling, baby?"  
He opened his mouth to respond, but then remembered he couldn't sass her. "Ah...I'm...ok. Just...my chest hurts, and...I'm a bit dizzy"  
"Oh no, why? What happened?" Jeongin only shrugged, not having any answer. "Ok...Um, I think we should go hospital then..." Jeongin resisted rolling his eyes, instead giving a small nod.

With that, the family of five, well, the four of them got up and ready to go. When Jeongin stood again, he felt himself sway and he rested on the armrest of the sofa.  
"You ok, hyung?"  
Jeongin looked up and nodded. He was surprised at the hand offered, and more so when he didn't move, the younger pulled one of his arms and placed it over his own shoulders to support Jeongin as he walked. 

When they finally arrived at the hospital, Jeongin explained his condition to the doctor while the family waited outside. 

The doctor came out with Jeongin to deliver his verdict. He seemed rather confused though.  
"He has all the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. I'd like to keep him here for a blood test. But, am I right to assume you all live within close distance of each other?"  
Getting positive affirmations the doctor continued, "Have any of you been in his room? Today, for longer than...five minutes or so, without feeling any symptoms"  
The oldest brother nodded while the youngest spoke, "We sleep in the same room. I just left, and then mum was calling hyung so I went back in."  
"Then...I don't see how or when he could have been affected. But we'll run a blood test to be sure. Other than that, I believe the memory loss is temporary, did anything significant happen yesterday? A...family member or friend pass away...?"  
They all turned to Jeongin before realising that he was the last one to ask.

"His friend was...he passed, yesterday"  
Jeongin blinked. Whatever he expected, that was not it.  
“What? How? Who? Was I there when...”  
“Relax Jeonginnie…I don't think you were there... Seungmin said he wouldn't rest until he found the murderer, the kid's smart, you'll know the full story soon enough.”  
Jeongin internally blanked at the name, but nonetheless nodded. He was understandably frightened at the prospect of a murder.  
“But...hyung has to stay for a blood test?”  
The doctor nodded.   
“Alright” Jeongin's older brother took charge. “You go sit with mum and dad, they went to get food, check down there. I'll go with Jeongin for his blood test and we'll meet you guys in a bit” he paused and glanced at the doctor. “If that's ok?”  
The doctor nodded again and led them to a room as the youngest raced off to his parents.

They were told to wait there until it was their turn and there was someone free to check Jeongin. As they waited, Jeongin squirmed on the uncomfortable metal chairs and huffed every now and again as he failed to find an angle less painful than the previous one.

Before he could comprehend what happened, there was a blur of bright red, and then arms around him and said blur of red in his face.   
“Ah- wh-what...” he not-so-gently pushed at the man. He didn't let up in the slightest  
“Innie…you're so mean, let hyung hug you for once” the red thing whined.   
Jeongin did roll his eyes this time. If he's so much a hyung, why so whiny?   
Rather than voicing this, he pushed at him again. “Off” after a moment of thought, he added, “Please…”  
There was a huff but he was released, and he finally got a look at red. His hair was bright red, with one side being an undercut. He also had a mole directly under his left eye, and wore a baggy black shirt with a snake pattern on the shoulder.

“Bambam, leave the kid alone” Jeongin heard yet another voice join them.  
“I'm hyung to you, Kookie”  
Jeongin eyed this...‘Kookie’. He had short, wavy, fluffy hair and soft features that were complimented by the oversized navy jumper. As he glanced back up to Kookie's face from the buttons on the sleeves (weird design, but it looks nice), he saw him huff with a smile.  
“It's like four months Bam. If anyone, Chan should be calling you hyung”  
“As my bestest of best friend's” Jeongin internally cringed. There was no way this guy was older. “He gets a free pass”  
“Well if he's your best friend...”  
Jeongin sighed quietly and tuned their bickering out. Almost surprised at how easily he could ignore them he resumed wiggling around in his seat.

“-nie, Jeonginnie, Innie!”  
Jeongin shook his head and stopped staring intensely at...whatever he was staring at when he zoned out, and turned his attention to red- Bambam?  
“Sorry, yeah? What's up?”  
“How comes you're here?”  
“Why are you here?” Jeongin corrected, not liking the way ‘how comes’ sounded.  
“Oh, well, I'm here for this one. Needs a blood test or whatever, said Channie”  
“That's not what I...ok…" He was so tired of the way this guy spoke "I need a blood test too. Um..some...what was it?” he tugged on his brother's sleeve to get his attention.  
“Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. They're gonna check if he actually inhaled any”  
There was a moment of shocked silence.

“Carbon...monoxide?” 

Well, there goes Bambam's first moment of silence in all of five minutes Jeongin's known him.  
Being met with a nod the silence stretched out and Jeongin grew uncomfortable. His brother hadn't said anything about this being a touchy topic.

“Well...” Bambam let out a weak laugh. “Soulmate pains, huh?” he tried to joke.  
His brother hummed. “See, the thing is...Jeongie doesn't...actually remember…that he...passed. The doctor thinks it's due to like, trauma or something. So…he has no clue what you mean”  
“Oh...” He came to hug Jeongin again. The younger allowed him, knowing it would comfort the other. He went an extra step and slipped an arm around him in return, and let it rest on his back.  
“Hyung...who...what soulmate?...Wait,” he pulled away, the other letting him, content as he had finally been ‘hugged’ back. “What did you mean by 'soulmate pain'?”  
“Uh...it's...self explanatory, I think. You weren't...actually soulmates, just...this is really coincidental”  
“He...died of...”  
Bambam nodded to the unspoken question.   
Kookie came and patted his head, “Sorry, Jeong, it must be hard to stomach...again…that's so weird tho”  
“It's ok...”  
“Ah, you have all the memories you need. Don't worry too much, I hope these symptoms go soon too”  
“…Thanks” Jeongin tried his best to not make it sound like a question.

After a few more seconds of awkward silence, before Bambam could latch himself to Jeongin again, the other pulled him away as his number was called.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the plan is to update every saturday?  
> if anyone even reads this...
> 
> hah, i bet i got u thinking it was chan didnt i?  
> yh...i wasnt sure which one of them to make it but eh
> 
> if u havent go watch hyunjin's 'little star' skz player, it so nice and the boi is so precious and the way he just...  
> when he loves someone. he LOVES them.  
> must protecc...


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So...that's Seungmin, this one's Felix, you always hug him and he rubs it in everyone's faces 'cause you'll rarely hug them...and..yeah" He pointed out a couple of them "I'll not...over load you with information now...but...this one...he...yeah."
> 
> After a while of playful bickering Jeonging was finally able to go to get the blood test done.

After growing tired of fidgeting and staring at a clock (for all of three minutes), Jeongin leaned over and placed his chin on the older boys shoulder, staring at the side of his head.  
“What d'you want?”  
“…hi”  
His response surprised himself, but it wasn't like he could have come up with anything better.  
The randomness did earn him a head pat though. “Hey”  
Jeongin grinned and moved to poke the others cheek. For what reason other than the random urge he didn't know.  
Without even looking, the elder returned the favour effortlessly.

“Hyung”  
There was a pause, and Jeongin waited patiently. It was weird, they both knew they weren't brothers, but the respectful title just seemed fit for Jeongin, or whoever he was, to say.  
“Hm?”  
“Can I see a picture? Of this guy who died. And the Seungmin guy. And whoever else I...knew? Know? Am supposed to know?”  
He hummed in thought before grabbing his phone and opening his gallery.

He flipped though a few pictures, a bunch of boys posing, huge grins on their faces. Finally landing on a suitable one, he stopped and showed Jeongin. There were sparks of familiarity at the faces, but he couldn't name any.  
Oh, wait, that one.  
His name's Jeongin.

"So...that's Seungmin, this one's Felix, you always hug him and he rubs it in everyone's faces 'cause you'll rarely hug them...and..yeah" He pointed out a couple of them "I'll not...over load you with information now...but...this one...he...yeah. You're soulmates, hm?"  
"Uh...In terms of pain, yeah, I guess"  
"Mm...How does it...how...like...how...you"  
"How do I what?" Jeongin pressed.  
"How...like, I don't wanna sound insensitive, but just, how does it feel? Like, to not remember at all? I'm not just curious, it's...I...I know i would be freaked out as hell"  
Jeongin hummed in thought and sat up. "Well..." He shrugged. "It's...Not gonna lie, it's scary. Everyone knows me and I'm just here confused and I don't know a single thing even about myself. It's...weird. But like, I remember stuff from like, the world in general. There are cows, and farmers, and the cows eat grass and make milk and that's how we get bottled or cartoned milk, but if you were to ask me what brand of milk we got, I have no clue...Oh, wait, you believe me now?"  
"I don't have much choice...Gimme a break, you think you would believe that someone you know if they just one morning go, 'oh, I can't remember anything at all an I have no clue who you are or I am'?" He put on a higher pitch of voice, probably mocking Jeongin from that morning.  
"I don't sound like that!" Jeongin hit his arm lightly but had giggled at the impression.  
"Mmhm" He sounded disbelieving. "And so, you're laughing 'cause you know you sound ten times sillier"  
"Ah- You- I- No. I don't"  
"Uh-huh"

After a while of playful bickering Jeonging was finally able to go to get the blood test done.  
Both boys walked over and Jeongin took a seat.  
Out of nerves, and probably habit, his hand flew up to clutch at his brother's sleeve when the needle was brought out  
"You'll be fine bud. Come 'ere" He turned Jeongin's head so his face was buried in the other's chest. "It'll just be a small pinch, yeah? Don't worry"  
"Jeongin let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding in relief. Maybe it was nice to have people who just know what you need. He definitely needed the reassurance before he began to over-think again.

Once the pricking was over and done with, his blood being pumped out to test, Jeongin looked up and smiled, hoping it expressed the gratitude he held.   
He then looked to the side, where his blood was rushing from his arm, through a tube into little bottles. He shuddered slightly. Why'd the tube have to be clear? And the bottles...  
"Ah...Not only one?"  
The other end of the tube from his arm had filled a bottle, and was moved to begin filling another.  
The nurse smiled sympathetically. "I'm afraid not. It won't affect you though, don't worry. It's just procedure"  
He would have scoffed at the typical, way over-used statement if it wasn't so normal, and perfectly acceptable as an excuse. He did however, glance at his brother, his eyes telling the truth behind the politeness. He got a huff of a disguised laugh and a shake of the head. Also more head pats.  
"It's just procedure, Jeongie" While his tone was perfectly normal, it was clear he agreed with Jeongin and mocked the system, and Jeongin struggled to contain his mirth. 

Ensuing the procedure of taking more blood than needed but using excuses-  
Let's not call the world out, but, subsequently, the boys were promised results within seventy-two hours. They thanked the nurses (for taking too muc-), and went down to reunite with their parents.

"Ah, boys, you're done"  
"Mm...the results will come soon, they'll call me" Jeongin blinked. The way the family knew exactly what each other wanted before they asked was amazing.  
"Oh, good, ok"  
"We got food, hyungs! It's so good! I got the best things for you, you'll love it so much"  
Jeongin was sure he didn't know the boy, but he was endeared. In complete contrast to what he thought he would be doing that morning, he passed on the head pats, which were as of now just a sacred tradition of the brothers. "Thank you...I'm sure we will" They shared a smile, and then the younger of the two grabbed both Jeongin and the eldest's arm, interrupting his exchange with their parents.  
"Hyuuung" He whined. "You're a hyung, not a dad. You've told them, now let parents talk about parent-y things and come on alreadyy"

Jeongin chuckled. Both at the expression the older was wearing and the obvious amusement of their parents. "I raised you well kiddo. Now, like you said, come on already" 

"Oh, I just remembered" Jeongin felt the hand on his arm tense at the mother's remark. "Someone has a class in an hour"  
The boy whined. "But…no...I wanna sped time with hyungs…"  
"Later, darling. Jeongin needs to go visit his club manager"  
Now it was Jeongin's turn to freeze, and he looked up to his now trusted older brother, confusion painted all over his face.  
"And I suppose I'll be going with him? As your precious son must be protected. And we can have a picnic"  
"Well...yes. I'm so glad you're the oldest"  
"Hey!" Jeongin complained. "Just because he was born first...I could…would be a great oldest son too"  
"Even me!" The youngest chimed in.  
"Ok, enough boys. Don't listen to your mother" before he even finished his sentence, their father had put up an arm to block the light slap he would receive for such a comment. It was worth it for the colourful giggles he got in return though.

Finally escaping the family, Jeongin skipped along with his older brother.   
“Oh, right. Who's this club manager guy? What do I go to? What do I do there? How long have I been going? Do you normally walk me-”  
“Jeongin…please stop…my brain just melted” Jeongin grinned sheepishly. “He's Park Jinyoung…he runs and funds a bunch of music related clubs; singing, dancing, producing, opera, and I don't even know. You came to one of them, and its where you met at those friends in the picture. Nothing else is really important so don't worry about it. I'm gonna go for a walk, he's in there, and I'll meet you at this bench in an hour”  
“…Oki” and he then went to meet...Jinyoung-him? Or…head-nim? Or, if he's the director, pd-nim works. Pd-nim sounded right.

“Park...Jinyoung pd-nim?” Jeongin called out, once he was inside the building.  
He found a very obviously marked office, large JYP lettering done in the centre, and knocked. “pd-nim? It's Jeongin”  
“Come in”  
And so he did. Before sitting in the chair set up, he gave a bow as he entered.  
“What...is it you need to talk about, pd-nim?”  
“Just, how is everything?”  
“Good...”  
“Good, that's what I like to hear. I apologize for any death and remorse you're in, but I assure you, the killer was not from us. Now, onto your club activities”  
Jeongin blinked at the lack of care of the death. And the way he was so quick to say he didn't know who it was and change the subject. Jeongin simply scrutinized the man as he spoke. Nodding when appropriate, but not hearing many of his words.

Once he finally concluded, Jeongin happily got up, glanced at the clock, and left with another respectful bow.  
He could've sworn he heard a chair creak behind him, as if was pushed back for the occupant to stand. Or maybe it was just a creaky draw.  
He had around half an hour until it was quarter to five, when he was due to meet up with his brother for lunch. So, he decided to follow his example and take a stroll in the beautiful greenery.

* * *

can i just....these are so cuuute

but thisss....

oof

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> seungmin is beauty...  
> chanin with black hair is just....akskdfg  
> Hyun-beret is...always amazing  
> oh, the first one, chans dimplee an i.ns smile and han is adorable
> 
> ....they did not have to attack so hard in the last one tho


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No...it's weird. It's like he's not himself”  
> Jeongin froze. He didn't see anyone he could be talking t- Oh. Right. Phones.  
> There was a short laugh.  
> “An exorcist? I said he's being different, weird. Not...crazy”  
> It hurt. Jeongin didn't know why, but it hurt.
> 
> He was scared.  
> Maybe a walk in the woods wasn't such a great idea?  
> Why though?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> our last chapter with inin...
> 
> (for now?)

Jeongin wandered through the trees. The filtered specks of light were comfortingly familiar. The joys in the lack of change in nature, unless humans were involved. The weird selfish beings.

Having chosen to walk alongside the path, in the trees, rather than on it, Jeongin noticed his older brother on a bench on the path. Slowing his stride, he took note of where he stepped. Avoiding very dry leaves or twigs, so as to not alert his brother of his presence to scare him. 

“No...it's weird. It's like he's not himself”  
Jeongin froze. He didn't see anyone he could be talking t- Oh. Right. Phones.  
There was a short laugh.  
“An exorcist? I said he's being different, weird. Not...crazy”  
Jeongin continued creeping closer, interested in the conversation.  
“No, he's not possessed-...Yeah, ok, but that's what you think from what I've told you. He's not being that weird. It's just...not...Jeongin…”

Jeongin felt some distant part of himself crumble from the hurt. For what reason he didn't know, he didn't know himself, let alone this guy.   
He traipsed away slowly again.

He sighed, dragging himself to a clearing. He flopped against a tree and leaned back, letting out a groan as his head hit the trunk. Why was he dumb enough to forget his phone. He could've at least been learning something about who he was. Instead here he was.   
Completely aimless and lost.

He found himself dozing off, and didn't care enough to prevent it and let his head loll to the side.

Suddenly he was panting again, his lungs constricting, he was running. Running from what?   
He wasn't sure, but he had to keep going. Faster, quickly, hurry.  
He needed to know why, but as he turned his head to look, he tripped over a misplaced tree root. Or was it a misplaced footstep?  
He felt time slow, he heard the cracking of branches closing in around him, and saw the ground reaching up to him - oh so quickly, but ever so slowly; languidly, taking its time, not caring for the race which was who was to reach Jeongin first.

He fell, finally, into...himself?  
He jolted up from where he was sitting against the tree, wheezing and whipping his head from side to side to find the cause for the breaking branches.  
Realising all he could hear was he own strained panting he relax against the tree again and let out a shaky breath.

That was so weird.   
Who or what was he running from?   
And why?   
Why didn't he know?   
Why was he so clueless??

Nothing. He had nothing. Nothing about his past, and now so little about the present.

Out of frustration he formed a fist and slammed it to the ground.  
And then winced, and cradled said fist to his chest with a pout.  
Stupid ground. Why'd it have to be so firm?  
Honestly, he was so sick of all the ‘why's' he had, but there was little chance he would find an end to them any time soon. That just seemed to be his life. This life? A life. That he had to suffer.

He made it back to the bench where their lunch was waiting. He searched through the brown paper bag, and pulled out a paper cup.  
He popped off the plastic lip to reveal a warm, Brown liquid. He hoped it was coffee. He couldn't be asked to go through another night- day? Mare…that…some...thing...? A quick sniff confirmed that it was and he smiled, closing it again. He folded the top of the bag, not having much of an appetite at that moment.

He heard a twig snap behind him, and then silence as if the person froze.  
“Hyung, I'm stealing the coffee. I found a nice clearing around...somewhere there,” he vaguely gestured to his left. “And I'm gonna go sit there. See ya in a bit”  
Without waiting for a response, he walked off, sipping the now lukewarm drink in his hands.   
He shuddered lightly. Both at the disgusting temperature and the idea of falling asleep because he couldn't drink this.

He finished about half of it on his way to the clearing, before decided he couldn't finish it. He glanced down and begun a childish game of avoiding stepping on leaves or twigs again.  
Then he heard it. Again, a soft rustle from behind him, and he knew it didn't come from himself.  
He was about to freeze, but made it seem as though he was carefully picking his next step.

Meanwhile, his brain was racing, flooding with thoughts and theories and questions, all tangling into a huge web. One he was about to truly get caught in, letting whoever was behind him catch him, Jeongin himself having made the job easier for him by getting caught like a fly by a spider.

He shook his head, silencing his pulsing thoughts, instead, he looked up and noticed a bin. His eyes gleaned with an idea.

He jogged lightly to the bin, and circled around it before throwing the cup into it. As it landed in the centre, he let out a small cheer, further playing into the uncaring, childish persona.  
In reality, all he had wanted to do was dump the cup, look behind himself and run from whatever he saw.  
This way he saved himself the panic time, and also didn't alert...whoever.  
This whoever, being someone in a maroon hoodie, with black face mask covering his lower face, from what Jeongin could see from the corner of his eye.  
He also could have sworn he saw something glinting by his hand, in a rare ray of sunlight.

He turned away, still acting as if he had no clue that there was anyone behind him. Internally though, he was panicking.

He hummed as he walked, and he suddenly darted forward, only to groan as he failed to catch a leaf before it hit the ground.  
He continued with this, walking casually, and suddenly darting at something that peaked his interest. All in hopes that his pursuer would be caught off guard when he did run, and run far.  
With a start, Jeongin remembered the vision-like dream, and noted to himself to watch out for protruding roots and low hanging branches.  
"Jeongin-ah!"  
He jumped and twisted to his right, where his name was called from. "Uh...y-yes? Who's...hyung?" He was nervous to assume again, but he knew the...guy, was behind him.  
"Come here"  
"Uh..." He took a tentative step closer, but while he was nervous, he was more than willing to be with someone else. It was less likely they would attack two people, wasn't it?

As he walked, he grew more frantic.  
"Hyung? Hyung! Where are you?!"  
"Just a little further Jeongie…"  
He could hardly hear the words, the dams holding back his raging thoughts long broken by the promise of safety.   
"Stop. Don't move"  
Jeongin froze like a deer caught in headlights. The only movement being his heaving chest. He let out a stifled sound of confusion and fear.  
When he felt it, he knew it was too late. The dream was wrong. He didn't have time to run.  
The tip of some cutting edge; a knife, spear, who knows what, pressed to his back, between his shoulder blades.

He couldn't scream.  
He hardly finished drawing in the shuddering breath when it tore through his chest.  
He would've cringed; the sickening feeling of metal tearing through his skin and flesh making him want to throw up. The feeling of the constant drip of blood down his back making him tense. At least as much as he could.   
If only Jeongin didn't listen, didn't stop. He would've ran, ran so far. And screamed, so much, so loud it would wake the dead.

But instead, here he was.  
The saddest part; even as his knees hit the solid ground, there was no peace for him.

His last thought, yet another question; a why?

'Why me?'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im soryyyy  
> i feel bad for innie but it's story plot...im sorry


End file.
